Panera Bread Searches Again for a Creative Shop

Cramer-Krasselt has handled the account since 2012. Photo: Panera Bread

Panera Bread's next lead creative agency will be its third in two years.

The company has split with incumbent Cramer-Krasselt and is in the midst of an agency search that's expected to be completed in late July or early August.

Media spending on the brand is expected to rise to $94 million this year, a Panera representative said. That figure represents a substantial uptick from last year, when spending totaled about $59 million, according to Kantar Media.

C-K had handled the business since 2012 and Mullen before that. Panera chief marketing officer Michael Simon, who joined the company in 2009, is steering the review.

Recent TV ads for the cafe chain tout ingredients "you can trust," including meat and eggs from chickens that are "raised without antibiotics."

Media responsibilities are not in play and remain at WPP Group's Maxus in New York. Maxus landed that account in 2009.

Panera Bread's next lead creative agency will be its third in two years.

The company has split with incumbent Cramer-Krasselt and is in the midst of an agency search that's expected to be completed in late July or early August.

Media spending on the brand is expected to rise to $94 million this year, a Panera representative said. That figure represents a substantial uptick from last year, when spending totaled about $59 million, according to Kantar Media.

C-K had handled the business since 2012 and Mullen before that. Panera chief marketing officer Michael Simon, who joined the company in 2009, is steering the review.

Recent TV ads for the cafe chain tout ingredients "you can trust," including meat and eggs from chickens that are "raised without antibiotics."

Media responsibilities are not in play and remain at WPP Group's Maxus in New York. Maxus landed that account in 2009.